Question MSI Pulse GL76 12UGK-256US random reboots after memory upgrade (replacing original RAM back eliminates the problem)

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May 21, 2022
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(Now I must warn everyone that my knowledge is quite dated, back in 2002 I was much more up to date but I have not kept up as well as I would like)

As mentioned in the question, I have a MSI Pulse GL76 12UGK laptop that I'm trying to upgrade the RAM. I'm posting from my main PC for comfort so I am not able at this time to post results from some program that reads specs etc. but here's what's in it.

Intel i7 12700H
Nvidia RTX 3070
16G 3200 RAM (2x8G)
Samsung 980 Pro M.2 SSD (added)
most current BIOS (updated by me to May 2022 release E17L3IMS.108)

I know there is more that "could" be important, but based on my dated knowledge and what I've learned in the last couple weeks I hope this is plenty. My issue is that I have now tried twice with 2 different sets of RAM to upgrade to 64G 3200 DDR4.

First was Mushkin RAM and the system would boot with that but only ran at 2667 instead of the 3200 everything stated it should run at. The worst part was that the system would randomly reboot. When I say random I really mean random. It would happen no matter what was happening even just sitting idle without me doing anything, or it would happen after some time gaming etc. There really was nothing common between the different times it would reboot other than it was driving me mad. While I had the Mushkin RAM I tried running memtest86, I tried different BIOS settings which is when I found out that I can't tweak the RAM settings in my BIOS (I've seen where the option is in other videos and it is simply not there anymore on this BIOS) This is also when I started finding out about MRC, and MPR training. So anyway Long story short I returned that RAM and tried again, this time with RAM that used Samsung components like the original RAM.

The second RAM may have been off brand but like I said, Samsung components and same specs as the old ram other than size. These were immediately recognized, ran at 3200, and seemed to work fine for the first couple hours. Then while I was away from it for a few minutes, it rebooted again. Then again about 15 minutes later. Now on a somewhat unrelated note, I tried a couple of things I had read before in the BIOS with simply enabling OC, changing gear ratio, all things that I had tried with the Mushkin RAM with no success but also no negative results either. This time I must have changed something else while looking through settings and bricked the system to a point where it would not even light the keys with the power button. I was able to get it up and running again (no thanks to MSI technical support who said the only thing to do was hit the reset button or send it in) I found the CMOS battery finally and was able to clear it to power it on. So I put the old RAM back in yet again, and sent the off brand back.

Now after all that gibberish up there that some more up to date techies are getting a chuckle out of here's my real question. Is there some magic RAM out there that fits some ridiculous standard for my system? (I know I haven't gotten the big name RAM yet but it's what I found with the right size and speed) Or is it possible that the next time I find RAM that seems to fit what I want I need to clear the CMOS again? I'm still not completely up to date on how MPR training works but a couple of things I've read recently make it sound like you need to clear anything of the old RAM out when you upgrade IE take out the CMOS battery like I did to "de-brick" the system.

I'm sure some, or even most, people are getting a good laugh out of my newb-ness in this but I figure I'm better off not relying on MSI again as when I asked them about the other battery they were sure I must mean the main battery because that's all that was in there.

Also small side note for if anyone tries to look up this laptop. For whatever reason it is nearly impossible to find it on compatibility lists or anywhere for that matter. Most searches will bring you to a Pulse GL76 11UEK or another variation of GL76 11"XYZ" The 12UGK is different from the 11 series as it is the processor description in the model name. 11th gen vs 12th gen I guess.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.
 
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May 21, 2022
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Amendment: I also vaguely remember reading somewhere that the number of chips (chips on each board) might be a factor. Each stick of the old RAM has 4 chips and both times I tried to upgrade there were 8 chips per stick. That may be complete fabrication from someone but I remember reading that and I have seen that some motherboards do not support ram with chips on both sides etc. so I'm just throwing that out there. Also I have had good luck with G.Skill RAM in the last two computers I've built so I'm considering THIS RAM. The CL22-22-22-52 is the same as what's in there now but I'm having trouble finding what voltage mine is currently running (I'll get there LOL)
 
Amendment: I also vaguely remember reading somewhere that the number of chips (chips on each board) might be a factor. Each stick of the old RAM has 4 chips and both times I tried to upgrade there were 8 chips per stick. That may be complete fabrication from someone but I remember reading that and I have seen that some motherboards do not support ram with chips on both sides etc. so I'm just throwing that out there. Also I have had good luck with G.Skill RAM in the last two computers I've built so I'm considering THIS RAM. The CL22-22-22-52 is the same as what's in there now but I'm having trouble finding what voltage mine is currently running (I'll get there LOL)
Go here and run the scanner see what it shows.
Crucial
 
May 21, 2022
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correction on initial post. My machine has a i7 12700H, I errantly posted that it was 11700

Completely forgot that I had run that too and had some interesting results. According to that scan, Crucial says I have a Katana GF76 12UE. At face value that doesn't sound odd to me, the specs are the same other than I have a better graphics card (RTX 3070 in mine vs. RTX 3060 in the Katana) I'm not about to say I have anything against Crucial, I just like options and the option from Crucial seems way overpriced. I started with the Mushkin ram because it was CL16. This is CL22. I doubt the difference will ever bother me honestly but with those specs at that price, my hope is I can go with the G.Skill as it's the same and like I said, I've had good luck with them. BTW I have looked for it on G.Skill's website but they do not have my chipset listed "Micro-Star International Co. Ltd. MS17L3 (U3E1)"

I also did find that my current RAM is running at 1.2V. Both of these options I'm considering run at 1.2V also.
 
correction on initial post. My machine has a i7 12700H, I errantly posted that it was 11700

Completely forgot that I had run that too and had some interesting results. According to that scan, Crucial says I have a Katana GF76 12UE. At face value that doesn't sound odd to me, the specs are the same other than I have a better graphics card (RTX 3070 in mine vs. RTX 3060 in the Katana) I'm not about to say I have anything against Crucial, I just like options and the option from Crucial seems way overpriced. I started with the Mushkin ram because it was CL16. This is CL22. I doubt the difference will ever bother me honestly but with those specs at that price, my hope is I can go with the G.Skill as it's the same and like I said, I've had good luck with them. BTW I have looked for it on G.Skill's website but they do not have my chipset listed "Micro-Star International Co. Ltd. MS17L3 (U3E1)"

I also did find that my current RAM is running at 1.2V. Both of these options I'm considering run at 1.2V also.
Are you sure you need 64GB of ram?
For most folks 32GB is overkill.
 
May 21, 2022
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"Need?" no, not right now perhaps. But I do use lightroom/photoshop and occasionally edit videos which is currently being done on my main rig but it's also 9 years old now. It's starting to show its age which I think is pretty impressive but, at that time I thought 32 was overkill too. So long story short, I'm not using it to edit right now but may move that over in the future and I tend to think ahead like that. Lightroom is a serious resource hog when your editing close to 1000 RAW images.
 
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